Race and Gender Schemas Essay Example for Free

Race and Gender Schemas EssayA persons gender dodge affects how they treat all other people regardless of age, race, or neighborly position because we assume that everyone fits into one of two categories male or feminine. There ar other cultures that do non relieve oneself a binary gender strategy, and forego people to occupy a third position combining traits that Ameri nominates would chit-chat as male or female. It is unfortunate that gender schemas are so restrictive and create expectations and judg handsts about peoples authentic selves that can trauma the psyche (Valian, 208). As a way to navigate the social world, gender schemas can be important, altogether want schemas for race and social class, they can honor hierarchies that restrict a large part of the population. Below, I will talk about my own gender schema, how I view the gender schema of my society, and how it could be changed to better As media scrams an ever much powerful force in shaping the worl ds perception of itself, an individuals struggle to maintain a unique identity and self-understanding unconnected from media influence becomes increasingly difficult.Damaging to the idea of the self are the racial, gendered, and class-based stereotypes (alship canal artificial and frequently physically, fiscally, and emotionally unattainable), which are more often than non perpetuated and, because of their persistence, are apparently non broadly questioned. The prevalence and power of gender (especially female) stereotypes in the media are addressed in this p My own gender schema has changed radically from when I was younger.I can remember asking my mother is that a boy or a girl? about a person whom my mother identified as a woman, but who had a very square, angular face with large look. Later, I learned to incorporate larger scale features (curvy hips or breasts large shoulder-to-waist ratio) into my schema. Although I was brocaded as a girl and have always looked female (if not always perfectly feminine), I dont always act like a girl I am somewhat aggressive when playing sports, Im not shy about asking questions, and Im some snips stoic about my emotions.This reflects my gender schema for males typical men are aggressive in sports, readily ask questions, and do not articulate emotions. By contrast, typical females in my gender schema are concerned with their appearance, are not aggressive on the playing field, tend to be shy if they ask questions, usually assume that they are not in a position of authority, and express their emotions freely. My schematic representation of male and female physical features has relaxed sparingly since childhood plenty of the women I was with in high school were more angular than curvy.Even though I grew up in a clean enlightened part of the world, men and women still used nonconformity to gender stereotypes/schemas to insult each other across group lines (women insulting men for world too female-like men insulting women for being too male-like). Also, I was more cautious of people who did not fit my gender schema, because these schemas predict behavioral and cognitive tendencies, however unreliably. Although our society has changed significantly even in the past 30 years, gender schemas themselves are still very restrictive.It may be the case that fathers have increased their contribution to childrearing time so little because the gender schema for males still dictates that a man spend the best hours of his day at his duty (TenenbaumLeaper, 616). Women are expected to conform to peoples gender schemas by liking children and being caring, sympathetic people all qualities of good mothers. However, it is never receptive that every woman you meet wants to be, or is even capable of being, a mother. some(prenominal) people still retain a gender schema that does not allow for women in positions of power in the workplace.The industrialized nations gender schemas support a agitateist society by propagating an ideology of an innate and entirely pervasive, sex determined social structure (Devor, 147). This is as bad for men as it is for women. For every woman passed over for promotion at work because their bosss gender schema classifies them as a mothering type, unsuited for the fast-paced world of their chosen industry, thither is probably a man in a aggressive job that would like to ask for paternity leave, but doesnt want to be belittled by the guys. From my perspective as a woman, and as mortal who has felt pressure to conform to a feminine gender schema, it experiencems like women get a worse deal if everyone uses the male/female gender schema in which typically-feminine behavior includes letting other people have their way, assuming you are not in a position of authority, and paying more attendance to your appearance than your skill set. For gender schemas to change in society at large, gender schemas must change for children.The best way to do this is by exposing children to gender-atypical men and women in an accepting way, expanding childrens gender schemas and symbolically making it acceptable for men and women to be as masculine or feminine as they olfaction like. Another way to take the claws out of the American gender schema would be to legitimize between-gender roles, either by working towards acceptance of transgendered and transsexual populations or by studying the gender schemas of other cultures as a way to shift our own prejudices about what constitutes maleness and femaleness. Shifting our gender schemas will allow peoples inherent strengths and weaknesses, rather than their adherence to stereotypes, to be the most important determinant of how we treat others. Heightened public awareness of both the existence of and probable damage caused by these stereotypes is essential if they are to be eliminated. Frequently, though, they are difficult to combat and even to identify because of the ways in which they are presented.Overwhelm ing amounts of time and energy are devoted to uplifting a small, specially selected portion of the population as models of physical perfection. These individuals are, predominantly, television and movie celebrities, fashion models, and sports figures. The glamorous ways in which these occupations are portrayed by the media are seemingly impossible to separate from the physical appearance of the people who hold them.The glamour that surrounds the media presentation of the lives and careers of these individuals extends, not surprisingly, to the clothes that they wear and the way that they look. In fact, so much attention is given to celebrity appearances that entire television programs are devoted to little else but visual exploitation of celebrity clo affaire and their tangible products of their latest fad workouts. The media presentation of the celebrity body has a single unifying thread, regardless of the specific job title of a given celebrity.Celebrity bodies are desired, both s ubjectively and objectively. The media, without question, shapes this public response. It can be argued (and has been, on many occasions) that, because the media portrays celebrities bodies as attractive, desirable, and good, they become national symbols of these characteristics. Conversely, bodies that do not meet this lofty goal frequently are, consciously or unconsciously, regarded as bad or ugly. Consider the most late (and extremely popular) advertising tack used by Subway, the national fast food sandwich chain.Jared, the protagonist of the recent slew of television commercials, allegedly baffled hundreds of pounds while on a diet consisting primarily of the chains fare. Jareds before pictures show him considerably larger than his electric current size, but they also show him alone, with no friends or family. In stark contrast, however, his after action shots consistently show him not only thinner, but also constantly in the presence of a beautiful woman, presumably his sign ificant other. The advertising message is clear fat=bad, ugly, unhappy and alone, thin=happy and with attractive partner.Through these commercials, Jared has assumed celebrity status, solely on the basis that his body has changed to approximate more closely the current standard of attractiveness. Sadly, though, there is a severe disconnect between the male and female body types lauded in the media and those of the public at large. A shockingly small minority of the population has the genetic dispensation to match with what the media purports to be attractive. For women, desirable physical characteristics (as they are portrayed in the media) include being thin, long-legged, slim-hipped, and large-breasted.The media-portrayed desirable physical characteristics for men include being muscular and possessing a full head of hair. Some characteristics are portrayed as desirable in both sexes, such as being tall, fit, athletic, young, and light-skinned. In the gap between what is implicitl y beautiful in the eyes of the media and the physical reality of the popular majority flourishes a market of self-improvement products and services, ranging from hair dye and makeup to tanning salons, dieting, and plastic surgery.It seems as though well-nigh everyone, at some point in his or her life attempts to alter him- or herself in a physical way, in order to conform more closely to the marketed norm of attractiveness and desirability. Television, magazines, and newspapers are filled with advertisements promoting self-loathing, while offering miracle, body-altering cures. The body that does not conform to a sexy, sleek stereotype becomes a thing to be hated, improved upon, and generally tortured into submission.A portion of the damage caused by such a mentality is quantifiable, though observation of the huge benefit accumulated yearly by various diet programs and plastic surgeons. The harm of this presentation of the human body can also be seen in our current societal epidemi c of disordered eating, including anorexia, bulimia, over-exercising, excessive dieting, and over-anxiety over food. While the population subset living with and recovering from disordered eating is still predominately composed of women, the number of men with disordered and dangerous eating habits is on the rise.In addition to physical damage, intangible psychological harm results from body image problems to which the media contributes daily. When men and women are approach with the implication that their bodies, if they fail to conform to an impossibly stringent set of standards, are unattractive, unhealthy, and unlovable, they begin to lose confidence in themselves. The perception that a single, narrow start of body types is acceptable and healthy for men and women is not only in error, but contributes to widespread social discontent.Instead of celebrating the diversity and beauty of the human form, the media stifles our desire to feel comfortable with ourselves in an attempt to fool us into supporting a billion dollar self improvement market, from which the media garners tremendous financial benefits. In addition to (and perhaps more devastating than) the physical and emotional damage caused by the current media-driven obsession with achieving an arbitrary physical perfection, our society faces losing serious social perspective.As it is currently used in the media, the body is stripped of its uniqueness and forced into frustratingly narrow constraints good/bad and attractive/unattractive. Little or no public attention is given to the countless other factors around which a persons identity is structured kindness, generosity, honesty, friendliness, work ethics, personal motivation, intelligence, and spirituality. By focusing too intensely on the physical, our society risks losing sight of the fuller sense of what people are, and what makes us truly beautiful.My LAP is going to talk about a personal sense that I have encountered with a family member. I have a brother who fits the schemas that we have spoke about in class. I feel that my brother has been transaction with identity issues for a long time since his childhood. How do you deal with being something that you dont feel you are? Being in this class has me see that everything is not disconsolate and white. Schemas are just a stereo type and everyone that may be something does not always seem to be the case.Sometimes there are many reasons that people feel that they are a part of a schema it can be caught up in how people act. Many things on TV make people want to try things like being attracted to the same sex. But sometimes it can be what is going on in your environment. Sometimes I feel that I am a part of a schema I am one of the only black females at my job that is around wide variety of Reform Jews and to me I feel sometimes that I am not suppose to be there but I hold my head up high and keep my enthusiasm very high. So schemas are every day and it just does not have to b e about sexuality.